* This story was inspired by previous works that I've read in the past. Key authors being Holly Black and Melissa Marr. I take no credit for their work; the plot to this story is the only thing I own. Furthermore, I don't carry the rights for this anime, either. Some of the characters will act OOC; all of these characters are of age. Constructive criticism is very welcome. Enjoy.


Chapter 20: Amu's POV:

"Will you hurry up? It shouldn't take thirty minutes to walk to a park that's ten minutes away." Amu frowned as she looked toward the occupied blonde.

"Don't you rush me human," Utau replied, running her fingers over a single red rose she'd 'found'; rather, stolen from her neighbors garden. They didn't take too kindly to people running in an out of their front yard, so the anxiety Amu felt while watching Utau do her thing was tremendous.

"Am I the only one wanting to find Ikuto?" The pinkette huffed and folded her arms over her chest.

"No. But you're the only one with a lack of trust, here. You need to work on that," Utau shot back, still caressing her flower.

It was cool outside, the cool air kissing a blush onto Amu's cheeks as they walked forth. Since October was coming up fast, the feelings of pre-Halloween resonated in the air. The time of baking treats and decorating for the season. The time to sit in front of a bonfire and tell horror stories.

Oh.

Amu really like the sound of that. She even tried to imagine Ikuto's gorgeous face lit by the light of the fire. She imagined Utau however, shriveling up and screeching: "I'm meeeeltinnng!" over and over again.

"Pfft."

"What's humorous?" The blonde frowned.

"Nothing at all," she answered with a grin.

"And you scold me for not being serious about Ikuto." Utau had an annoying amount of condescension in her voice.

Amu didn't reply, though. There was no absolutely need to. It would only cause them to move slower in their search of Ikuto.

"Where is Ikuto, anyway? You told me that you knew who he was with."

"Where. Where Ikuto would be at. Although I can't doubt that he's with someone as well. Ikuto has recently picked up a strange way of dealing with his emotions. Human emotions at that." Her nose wrinkled a bit with distaste.

Amu stopped in her tracks and stared at the concrete before her feet. A sense of despair and dread filled her.

As if sensing it, Utau continued. "You know that he does it. you know that that is why he still lives, why he's not withering away."

She knew. Whenever he wasn't around, she always questioned if he could be... But every time she did see him, it all washed away. She found herself forgetting that he was what he was. It always came like a smack in the face whenever she was reminded.

"How would you handle this, Amu?"

Hearing her own name fall from the perfect lips of the female beside her caused her to be stunned.

"I don't..."

"You doubt your relationship."

"We're not-" she began.

"I know. He's not courting you. But, why is that?"

Amu shifted her weight from one foot to another, swallowing audibly. "I don't know..."

"I do," the blonde said. "You aren't being courted by him for several reason. One, you're human. You don't-can't live a long life. Two, for a period of time you gave your body to another. Ikuto was made to feel jealousy."

"What are you-"

"Three, Ikuto is a Gancanagh. Your relationship would have plenty of flaws and would have crumbled apart in the very beginning. Ikuto knew this. So do you."

Give her body to Tadase? She did that? Of course not, she was still a virgin. Did Ikuto possibly believe...

Amu sighed and lowered her head. Problem after problem after problem.

She was getting sick of it.

"Come on, we need to find Ikuto," she started, moving forward once again.

*Later.*

"What a lovely sight." Utau sighed.

Amu burned with a mix of depression, anger, and most of all; jealousy.

But to be able to witness this scene yet again...

The two of them found Ikuto. Along with another female. Luckily, it wasn't a person she knew. Unluckily, that made things worse somehow.

He wasn't entirely naked. But just as the time with Tadase had occurred, his tunic had been shredded. He seemed to only be dancing around in a tattered skirt. And that was exactly what he was doing. Dancing. He jumped around the spacious area, something he couldn't have done whilst being tackled by Tadase in her room.

"Is.."

"Ikuto has a concerning way that he deals with his emotions," Utau repeated unhappily. "He would've called me pretty soon, anyway."

Amu wanted an explanation, but she wasn't sure how to ask it. 'What, does he fuck to his hearts' content' didn't seem like an appropriate way to ask it. It even sounded as though it was offensive. She was still angry.

However, Utau began to explain without her having to ask.

"Ikuto loves to feel as thought he's capable of turning what haunts him the most into something less... dreadful. So he tends to play something along the lines of the children's 'Tag' game."

"It looks like he's dancing," she murmured in awe. And it did. Tribal dancing, maybe. He looked graceful; in every sense of the word.

Ikuto jumped around the area, steering clear of the rabid female reaching, jumping, and crawling after him. She could hear his heavy breathing, and she could hear the moans and wails of displeasure from the sexually frustrated woman.

"Ikuto."

The indigo-haired male spun around and eyed Utau. His gaze flickered over to Amu and then there was a pause as he tried to register her presence. Time seemed to stop for a split second before he refocused on Utau. He shook his head in disbelief. "You came," he muttered. His breath was husky and weary. He grunted when a pair of strong, slender, and dirtied arms wrapped around his waist.

Amu look off to the side, the sheer amount of jealousy eating away at her sense of calm.

"Is Amu really here, or am I tasting someone else's strong emotions?"

Utau sighed, and shook her head. "You're insane. Ikuto, what are you doing?"

"Destroying my sanity."

The answer was simple and he said it with ease. But the words hit her hard in the chest.

"Ikuto, stop it." She plead.

"Utau, take her home."

"I don't want to go home, Ikuto!" Amu stood her ground, and glanced over at Utau in panic. "I thought you were going to help him!"

"I planned on it, don't rush me, human."

These words irritated the pinkette, but calmed her as well. She wish that she could be of use, been able to help.

"Who's she?"

A voice Amu didn't recognize. The three of them focused on the female that once had her arms wrapped around Ikuto's waist. Amu frowned a little, seeing that she had little to no clothes on as well. She looked horrid for it only being a night- at least, she assumed it'd only been a night in which Ikuto laid his hand on her. Her hair was wrecked, stringy and she was covered in a sheen of sweat. Still, Amu could see clouded blue eyes past the primal look, and what was there almost terrified her. A look of pure, unadulterated hate and jealousy. Amu glanced over at Ikuto, and he shifted uncomfortably. She knew that he was able to taste emotion; she still found it strange and hard to comprehend. Amu wondered about the intensity of the other's emotion. Did it taste as strong and intense as it looked?

Ikuto's POV:

He wasn't apologetic about having stolen a girls' innocence; her life. But he did feel shame and a sense of self-hatred. The girl's emotion overpowered him; made him see a tinge of red. It didn't hurt him, but it gave him the feeling one would get were they to eat something foul.

"Ikuto, who's she?"

Ikuto hummed and glanced over to the battered female; completely ignoring the two in front of them. He knew what happened when his prey felt as thought there were competition. And he didn't believe he wanted Amu to experience such a thing.

It was my choice to do this. This was all my doing. I'm destroying myself, and I can feel that I'm destroying Amu as well. An honorable death for a soul.

"She's no one," he replied stiffly.

His eyes widened soon after he answered and he in turn collapsed to the hearth beneath him.

Hurt. Pain. Intense hurt, and excruciating pain.

He felt as though a thousand scalding pokers had been shoved down his throat. Searing him, branding him, torturing him for his lies. He hunched over on the ground and heaved; with nothing in his body to give. Traitor tears prickled in his eyes, and he did his damnedest to rub them dry without anyone noticing.

The feeling faded after minutes-what felt like hours-of pain. It was then that he could finally hear the cries of his name.

"Ikuto!"

Amu. Of course, it was Amu. Utau already knew.

"Ridiculous."

Trying to lie. Not the best thing to do, especially when trying to avoid being caught in your lie. The female beside him didn't seem to affected by it, which irked him a bit more than it should have. Ikuto sat up and brushed her hands over his thighs with a huff of breath. He shot a glare toward Utau and frowned, speaking cryptically. "You'd try too."

"I know how to dance around a lie-"

"You should take her home now."

It was true. Utau had always been better with her words. He, on the other hand, had a lot of work to do.

"Why take her home? Why not just wait?"

A new voice? He heard Amu take in a sharp breath of air, and he could taste disbelief and shock in the back of his throat; a bitter, cool taste. He tilted his head to the side and glanced over to where he'd heard the voice.

"What is this, a party?" Utau questioned with a scoff. He knew what she was thinking. She'd had better things to do, and he'd ruined her night by having her babysit 'vermin'. He couldn't say that he was sorry for it, though. Ikuto tilted his head to the side to glance toward the newcomer. He'd recognized her instantly from Amu's home. Or was it a him? He couldn't forget the long purple hair.


Q: I know it's all over the place. Even so, I hope it was at least a good read. Please, R&R. Tell me your thoughts. What should I do to make this better? What should I do to keep your interest? 1... 2... 3... Go!